Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have been in the headlines for the past few years. While swaths of the population have tried to get their head around why NFTs exist, demand has soared, institutions have been built, and the lingo has entered our collective consciousness.
There is an elephant in the room, though: NFTs are difficult to use and a majority of them are digital snake oil. But these problems create the opportunity to provide answers. The accessibility and legitimacy of NFTs are both ripe for change. As funding pours into the space, the market is starting to mature, and that change is gaining momentum. We’re entering a new era of NFTs — NFT 2.0 — where the technology will be more easily accessible by the mainstream, and the underlying value proposition of the NFTs will be more transparent and reliable.
Reflecting on the rise of NFTs
In their short existence, NFTs have exploded onto the crypto scene, topping $17 billion in trading volume in 2021. This number is expected to balloon to $147 billion by 2026. Even more impressive is the fact that this volume is owned by fewer than 400,000 holders, which totals a whopping $47,000 transaction volume per user.
Alongside the industry’s meteoric rise, NFTs themselves have gone through enormous changes since their inception. For example, CryptoPunks, which minted for free in 2017, rose to blue-chip status, peaking with an $11.8-million sale at Sotheby’s last year. A few years later, Larva Labs, the company responsible for creating the Punks, was acquired by the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s parent company, Yuga Labs, for an undisclosed amount.
The evolution of NFTs
Dismissed as a fad early on, NFTs have shown a tremendous amount of staying power, attracting the attention of major celebrities and brands and even being featured in Super Bowl commercials. Companies such as Budweiser, McDonald’s and Adidas have dropped their own collections, while Nike has entered the space by acquiring RTFKT Studios.
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